The freezing rain lashing their faces won’t stop them. It won’t slow them down either. From the first light of dawn on the highlands of the Rift Valley, thousands of Kenyans run. Their jaws clenched, their gaze fixed towards the horizon, they swallow the kilometers by skimming the ground with a fluid and aerial stride. What are they thinking? “I imagine the records I would like to break to become a great champion and help my family, answers Mercy Jelimo, 17, cross-country specialist. Even if it’s difficult, I always do my best. »
At 2,400 meters above sea level, Iten, a town of around 40,000 inhabitants located in western Kenya, presents itself as the epicenter of global endurance: “The Home of Champions” (“the house of champions”), as announced by a banner on the main road. From 5 a.m., some train on the road that leads to Eldoret, capital of Uasin Gishu county, while others take the dirt roads for fartleck sessions, an exercise where you have to alternate phases sprint with others who are calmer. At least once a week, everyone will accelerate at the old Kamariny stadium. On this May morning, there are several hundred of them. Surrounded by wild grass and a few lost goats, its legendary red dirt track has seen all the stars of Kenyan athletics parade.
“There are physiological reasons which can explain the success of our runners but not only that, explains Castro Mugalla, sports doctor at Iten Hospital. They train hard at altitude and the fact that they are used to running to school for example from a very young age also helps them. » In Iten, people rarely run for fun. Here, we enter athletics as we enter religion. You must be ready to make any sacrifices to find a place among the elite, in a country where 33% of the population lives below the poverty line according to the World Bank.
The pool of runners is inexhaustible. According to several coaches, around a hundred Kenyans would be able to achieve the minimum required to participate in the Olympic marathon, i.e. 2:08:10 for men and 2:26:50 for women. “The competition is so strong that it is more difficult to qualify within your training group in Kenya than to then win an event in Europe”, explains Thomas Capdevielle, head of anti-doping testing at the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), an independent body responsible for doping in athletics.
You have 63.73% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.